Hostel of the Sun

Hostel of the Sun is not shy to announce its numerous "Best Hostel in the World" awards, which are literally plastered over every scrap of wall. After a few days snuggled up in this tiny haven, you can understand why.

The Location

The hostel is not particularly close to anything, but everything in Naples is so spread out, it would be difficult to find a hostel that's well placed. The street is also a bit scary to walk down in the evening as its very quiet and deserted, but hey, this is Naples -- without a bit of fear it wouldn't be the crazy city that it is. The hostel is also located on one level of a tall building, which is common for Italian hostels -- it can therefore be puzzling to find at first. Look around for the Hostel sign when you think you're getting near.

Rooms and Bathrooms

You cannot fault the rooms, which are brightly coloured, clean, and well equipped with huge lockers and lights by every bedside. There's even a shelf for those on the top bunk! The bathrooms are very large and wheelchair friendly, though there's only three, so you can end up waiting a little on busy mornings.

Common spaces

The sofas in the living room area are all very close and intimate, which helps to add to the hostel's friendly, cosy vibe. There's a full DVD collection and three computers, but the problem is that they're always busy in the evenings. The kitchen and its facilities are all spotlessly clean. The hostel also has a conscience and recycles almost everything! The dining room is fairly small, but again this helps to promote interactions among travelers -- you‘ll find yourself sitting with about six randoms at breakfast time.

There are also many bonuses that not all hostels take into account, such as free internet and a great free breakfast with lots of choice (cereal, yogurt, fruit salad, toast, and the hugest Nutella jars you will ever lay your hands on!). The hostel even has its own Skype telephone account, so you can phone anywhere in the world for almost nothing per minute! There's rarely a queue for this magical phone, which is really quite perplexing.

Summary

It is pretty clear why Hostel of the Sun has won so many awards -- it's clean, it's friendly (the staff are unbelievably laid back!) and its facilities are plentiful and modern. The list is exhaustive. Hostel of the Sun is very welcoming and great value for money. Just make sure you don't miss out -- book in advance.

— Avis exclusif de Hostelz.com
February 2009